Notes on an Internship: Georgia

Hi, I’m Georgia and I spent a week working as an intern for Mushens Entertainment! As an A Level student who grew up learning about the writing industry from my parents, I was very keen to learn more about publishing. I’ve learned lots during my week as an intern; the team was so welcoming to me and happy to answer my questions and I feel very fortunate to have been given this exciting opportunity!

Throughout the week I did many different things, however, my main goal was reading a submission and learning ways to structure my notes. I had many 1-to-1 meetings with Kiya, where I learned many things about the publishing industry and how to read and make notes on a submission. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the ways in which a submission is reviewed and was very interested to discover how the different agents within the company may perceive a book differently depending on their preferences.

I also attended a foreign rights seminar where Liza, Alba and Catriona taught me a lot about how foreign rights fitted within the industry. This was an amazing experience as I gained an in-depth insight into how foreign rights work, and how rights to books differ from other formats, such as film and translation rights. One of my favourite things to learn was how book fairs are used by agents; I was unaware of how vital their role is in selling books, and was fascinated to discover more about it!

I also very much enjoyed reading a submission and learning what to look for as an agent. It allowed me to use my analytical skills to determine whether the submission was right for the agency, and I loved being able to discuss my opinions and feel that my views were making an impact. I enjoyed exploring my opinions about the book with Kiya and considering where it would fit within the market, the audience that it would appeal to and whether I overall enjoyed the story and felt that it would appeal to modern readers.

Finally, working as an intern at Mushens Entertainment taught me the different areas of the publishing industry and how they all interact with one another. Through seminars and meetings, I learned in detail what is considered when reading a submission, and I was fascinated to discover that it is not only the way that the submission will fit in the market that is considered, but also the agent’s opinion on the book and whether they enjoy it! This helped me a lot when reading a submission myself; I truly felt that my opinion mattered, which helped me a lot in writing in depth notes.

I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity; everyone was so welcoming to me and very keen to answer my questions, and I had an incredible experience!